Self-checkout stations at grocery stores and other retail stores are well known. The stations permit a consumer to scan articles for purchase so the station may identify the articles and a corresponding price. When the consumer indicates all articles for purchase have been presented to the terminal, a sub-total is accumulated, any taxes and discounts are computed, and a total amount due is displayed for the consumer. The station then allows the consumer to select a payment method. The station presents menu selections to the consumer so funds may be transferred to the retailer's account. Upon confirmation of payment, the articles are released to the consumer.
A self-checkout station typically includes a terminal, a scanner/scale for reading unit price codes (UPC) and determining article weight, a cashier keypad and display, a POS terminal for payment entry, a receipt printer, a change unit, and a checkout area for holding articles once they have been scanned. The terminal also includes a display, a processor, memory, programmed instructions, and data peripherals to control the operations of the station. The programmed instructions may contain modules for querying for article prices, computing totals and performing other functions related to the purchase of articles through a self-checkout station. Some checkout stations may also include a security application program that uses data from sensors such as scales to reduce the likelihood that the consumer leaves without scanning all of the articles or exchanging scanned articles with more expensive articles that have not been scanned.
Typically, two or more self-checkout stations are located proximately to one another with a checkout attendant station nearby. The checkout attendant may help consumers who may be using a self-checkout station for the first time, who are having trouble with scanning an article, or who are having difficulty with a payment method or the like. That is, the primary duty of the attendant is to provide assistance to customers who are using the self-checkout stations so the stations efficiently and quickly process customers with their checkouts. Although these attendants are available to assist in security monitoring, such duties actually detract from the performance of their primary duty.
Issues regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of self-checkout station attendants have arisen since the introduction of self-checkout stations. For one, an attendant is capable of physically interacting with only one customer at a time. This limitation restricts the number of self-checkout stations that an attendant can effectively service without causing long waits and irritating customers. Attendants are also subject to other distractions that impact their availability for servicing self-checkout station customers. These distractions include conversations with other employees or customers not using the self-checkout stations. Additionally, periods in which all or most of the self-checkout stations are being used are especially demanding on the limited resources of an attendant physically present at the self-checkout station area.
While one response to these issues would be to increase the number of attendants available for self-checkout station service, that response would defeat the purpose of installing self-checkout stations, which is to reduce the need for cashiers. That response also adds expenses to the operation of the retail establishment as labor costs are some of the most expensive costs for a business. Even if additional personnel were added for anticipated peak periods, identifying the peak periods and scheduling the additional personnel for the peak periods alone would be a difficult task.